Water key



E. R. EASH June 11, 1957 WATER KEY Filed March 21, 1956 United States Patent WATER KEY Edwin R. Eash, Elkhart, Ind., assignorto. C. G. Conn Ltd.,. Elkhart, Ind-.,' acorporation of Indiana Application March 21, 1956, Serial No. 572,968 5. Claims. '(Cl; 84-397) This invention relates generally to. musical wind instruments andnmore particularly to pivotally mounted keysof the type which are manually. operable for closing and uncovering an aperture in such an instrument.v

A common use for keys. of the type. mentioned. is in connection with brass intruments wherein. one or more openings are usually provided fordischarging saliva therefrom. The prior art water keysusedaforthispurpose have. been of expensive cast construction which required separate soldering of a pad. holder and a hinge. tube. thereto. and machine polishing of. thecomplete; key. Such a key was then. usually supported in av suitable pivot mount on the instrument by means of: apin or hinge. screw extending through the hinge. tube, andakey spring. was provided for holding the key closed; In addition. to the expense of machining the key and fastening thereto the holder for the aperture sealing pad. and the: hinge tube, assembly of the hinge screw was rendered inconvenient and difiicult because the spring for maintaining the key in closed position over the aperture was under tension during assembly.

An object of this invention. is to provide an improved instrument key which is of simple and inexpensive construction and which may beeasily mounted.

A further object of this invention is to provide a pivotal key for wind instruments which is mounted or demounted by merelydepressing the sameand sliding it into or out of the associated mounting structure.

Another object isto-provide a water key and mounting which is composed of but few integral parts which may each be simply formed in one stamping operation.

A feature of the invention is the provision of an improved Water key for a wind instrument having a flat spring mounted along the under side of the key and a notch in the outer side thereof so that in the assembly operation the spring can be depressed against the instrument and the key positioned within a U-shaped holder having a pivot portion engageable with the notch.

Another feature is the provision of such an improved water key device wherein the key holder comprises a U- shaped member which may be soldered to the instrument and which includes an integral inwardly formed lip at the bight of the U-shape which forms the pivot for the key.

Further objects, features and the attending advantages thereof will be apparent upon consideration of the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a side view of a trumpet incorporating the water key of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a view of the water key mounted on the third valve tuning slide of the instrument;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to that of Fig. 2 but showing the water key in the process of removal and;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view along the line 4--4 of Fig. 2.

The invention provides a pivotal key of the type particularly useful with brass wind instruments for closing and opening an aperture in tubing of the instrument for: removal of water therefrom. Such an aperture may beformed in the. bottom portion of a curved section of a tuning slide of theinstrument. A U-shaped key holder or mount is. securedto the tuning slide and this holder includes aninwardly formed lip at the bight of the U-shape to. form. a pivot for. the key. The key includes a pad holder at one end to retain a suitable pad for covering the aperture and. a handle at the other end. A flat spring is fastened to the under side of the key, while the outer side thereof has. a notch which engages the pivot of the U-shaped mount. when the pad holder is aligned with the aperture. By depressing the spring against the tuning slide, the key may be positioned within the U-shaped mount and released so that the notch engages the pivot. The spring then. bears against the slide to bias the pad against the aperture. Accordingly, the key can be pivoted to open the aperture by pressure on the handle and release of such pressure then closes. the key over the aperture.

The trumpet 10 shown in Fig. 1 includes a main tuning slide 12 to which is fastened awater key 14, operation of which permits: discharge of water collected in the tubing of theinstrument. The trumpet further includes a tuning slide 16 for the third valve and this slide also has a water key 18 for the same purpose. Keys 14 and 18 may be constructed the same and only one will be described; It will be obvious as the description proceeds that the water key device of the invention may be used on other instruments to realize the same advantages outlined herein.

Slide 16 is shown in Fig. 2 and it may be noted that an aperture 21 is provided in the lower side of the curve of this slide. The key holder or mount 23 is a U-shaped member, the open arms of'which are soldered to the bottomof the tubing of slide 16, as shown in Fig. 4. Mount 23 includes a pivot or inwardly bent lip 25 which projects into the. U-shape thereof from the bottom side or bight of the U-shape at the end thereof which is nearest the aperture 21.

The key 18 includes a handle 26 at one end and a padseat 27- at the other end. The seat 27 is cup-shaped and contains a pad 28 which may be composed of cork or some similar material for effectively sealing aperture 21. Key 18 further includes a notch 30 in the outer side thereof intermediate the handle 26 and seat 27. This notch and the lip 25 of the key' holder may be mated in pivotal relation as shown in Fig. 2 with the pad in engagement with the aperture 21. This form of the key as shown lends itself very well to a relatively inexpensive coining or stamping operation in its manufacture wherein the pad seat 27 and the pivot notch 30 can all be made at one time.

A fiat spring 32, of the so called saxophone type, is secured to the inner side of key 18 adjacent the pad seat 27. Spring 32 extends along the key to the handle side of notch 30 and is bent outwardly from the key to bias handle 26 away from slide 16 and to bias pad 28 into contact with the sides of aperture 21 as shown in Fig. 2. Spring 32 may be mounted on the key by means of a pair of fastening screws, or by means of one fastening screw and a guide slot in the inner side of the key, or even by forming a recess in the key and overturning the edges thereof to capture the spring.

Fig. 3 shows the key 18 in the process of being removed from its mounted position. It may be noted that removal for the purpose of replacing pad 28, repair of the device, or the like, may be accomplished by merely pressing the entire key against spring 32 so as to disengage notch 30 from the lip 25 to permit sliding the handle 26 through U-shaped support 23. The position of the fingers of a person accomplishing this is shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3. Reassembly, or even original assembly of the instrument, is accomplished by merely reversing this operation to bring the key 18 back into pivotal relation with lip 25 in the U-shaped support.

This invention provides, therefore, a simple key structure for the water discharge aperture of a brass'type wind' instrument. The components of the device, including the key and its support, may each be formed by one simple stamping operation thereby doing away with considerable machining and soldering as frequently required in the prior art water keys. Furthermore, the key of this invention may be easily installed or removed at any time without using any tools or other aiding instruments.

What is claimed is:

l. A device for closing an aperture in a musical instrument including in combination, an elongated key having a handle portion at one end and a pad at the other end for covering the aperture, said key having a notch in its outer side and intermediate said ends thereof, a support for said key including a first portion secured to the instrument and a second portion encircling said key, said second portion having a pivot lip for engaging said notch, and spring means on said key adapted to engage the instrument to bias said pad to a position engaging the instru ment about the aperture.

2. A device for closing an aperture in a musical instrument including in combination, an elongated key having a handle portion at one end and a pad portion at the other end for covering the aperture, said key having a notch in its outer side intermediate the ends thereof, a support member for the key including a portion secured to the instrument and extending about said key, said support member having a pivot lip for engagement with said notch, and spring means secured to said key and adapted to engage the instrument to bias said pad portion to a position covering the aperture.

3. A water key for opening and closing an aperture in a musical instrument including in combination, a U- shaped support having the ends thereof secured to the instrument in a position spaced from and aligned with the aperture, said support having a pivot portion projecting between the sides thereof, an elongated key having a handle portion at one end and pad means at the other end facing toward the under side of said key, said key having a notch in the outer side thereof intermediate said handle portion and said pad means, said key being disposed within said support with said notch in pivotal engagement with said pivot means and said pad means aligned with the aperture, and spring means supported on said under side of said key and bearing against said instrument to bias said pad means toward said aperture, said handle portion being operative to depress and release said spring to move said pad means away from and toward said aperture.

4. A water key for opening and closing an aperture in a musical instrument including in combination, a U- shaped support having the ends thereof secured to the instrument in a position spaced from and aligned with the aperture, said support having an integral inturned portion at the bight of the U forming a pivot, an elongated key having a handle at one end and pad means at the other end facing toward the inner side of said key, said key having a notch in the outer side thereof intermediate said handle and said pad means, said key being disposed within said support with said notch in engagement with said .pivot on said support and said pad means closing the aperture, and spring means supported on the inner side of said key and bearing against the instrument to bias said pad means towards the aperture, said handle being operative to depress said spring to pivot said pad means away from said aperture.

5. A water key for opening and closing an aperture in tubing of a musical instrument including in combination, a key support secured to the tubing in a position spaced from and aligned with the aperture, said support having an opening therethrough facing said aperture and a projection into said opening from the outer-side thereof, an elongated key having a handle at one end and a pad cup at the other end facing the inner side of said key, a resilient pad disposed in said pad cup for sealing the aperture, said key having a notch in the outer side thereof intermediate said handle and said pad cup, said key being disposed within said opening of said key support with said notch in pivotal engagement with said projection and said resilient pad aligned with the aperture in said tubing, and spring means secured to the inner side of said key between said notch and said pad cup, said spring means bearing against said tubing on the handle side of said projection of the support opening to bias said pad against said tubing around the aperture therein, said handle being operative to pivot said key within said key support and open the aperture in said tubing.

No references cited. 

